


Field of Reeds

by ifwegettherebysunset



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Genre: Afterlife, Gen, Happy Ending, Hopeful Ending, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 21:12:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13667385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifwegettherebysunset/pseuds/ifwegettherebysunset
Summary: Yusei wakes bleeding in a strange palace. One or two familiar faces are there for him.(AU where Yusei is about to die, and Atem is there to help.)





	Field of Reeds

**Author's Note:**

> I watched both the dub and sub of BBT. This one takes place after the original material. Side note, I had no idea which pairing, exactly, to use, so I used all of them. Sorry if that caused confusion.
> 
> This is the only time my muse has worked for YGO for *months*, so I'm gonna encourage it however I can. It toes the line between queerplatonic and queer af. You are invited to read it however you choose.
> 
> The card that features in this fic is completely made up.

The air is dry and blazing, but the smooth floor is cool on Yusei's cheek. He opens his eyes to wide-eyed dark-skinned men holding spears. Behind them are elaborately carved pillars depicting languages he doesn't understand.

Where  _is_ he?

Yusei pushes to his feet. By the end, he's breathing heavily and realizing that the floor didn't make his stomach cold. His torso is wet with blood. He holds up a placating hand to the armed men, unable to do much more. They whisper among themselves, glancing anxiously at the red pool at Yusei's feet. Other people in the large chamber pause as well, all dressed in white linens. Some back up against the gleaming stone wall to get away from the visitor.

"Yusei?"

When he turns around, Yusei thinks that maybe the question isn't  _where_.

A shining figure hurries from his golden throne. His skin is dark, and he wears enough jewelry to fund Yusei's D-Wheel projects for life. But the eyes, the hair, the Puzzle, the confident posture, are all unmistakable.

"Yugi... _san_...?" Yusei rasps.

The Pharaoh smiles. "No. My real name is Atem."

Ah, right. Paradox had called him Nameless Pharaoh. Yusei wants to say how glad he is that Atem found his name, but his knees are knocking.

"You're hurt!" Atem cries, gripping Yusei's arms.

"Chasing...thieves. Crash."

Right. Yusei had been―

Oh, fuck.

Yusei had been  _impaled_. A jagged piece of his D-Wheel's handle...

"Yusei. Yusei! It's alright!"

How is  _any of this_ alright? Yusei wants to scream. No matter how powerful Atem is, there's no fixing this, not even with Neo Domino's finest. He's being taken from his friends with no way home and no idea where he's going. Their faces flash in his head.

A cool hand touches his cheek. "If you're bleeding, then there is still a chance."

Yusei wants to ask how. A panicked groan croaks out instead.

"No one bleeds here," a new, yet strangely familiar voice says calmly. "This, Fudo Yusei, is the Field of Reeds."

Yusei raises his eyes. He blinks. "Y...you're..."

The Black Magician smiles. "My real name is Mahad. Be still."

Atem gently lifts Yusei's shirt. "I will not allow you to pass yet, my friend. There is still so much you can do. Mahad?"

His magician nods and lays his hand on Yusei's stomach. Heat, different from the arid breeze, seeps into the wound. Yusei gasps.

Atem strokes his cheek. "Think of your friends as before, Yusei. They are waiting for you to return."

The pain recedes, just enough to think. Yusei closes his eyes. Pictures Crow, Jack, Rua, Ruka, Aki. From there, he broadens the sight to encompass everyone he's been lucky enough to befriend, from Rua and Ruka's friend Sly to Sherry and Rally.

Atem tastes of fruit and sand.

* * *

The small army in the waiting room gasp at the sudden light flooding in the middle of them.

"Yusei's deck," Crow says.

Jack draws the glowing card. His brow furrows.

"Is it Saber Dragon?" Aki asks.

"No."

* * *

Yusei wheezes a hoarse breath, jack-knifing from the operating table. The surgeon and nurses cry out.

"But―"

"That's impossible―"

"He was  _dead_ ―!"

Yusei blindly rips the mask off, coughing and dry heaving. The power Atem left in his lungs kisses his heartbeat. In his periphery, the shadows in the room seem to retreat.

"Fudo Yusei?" the surgeon asks incredulously.

Yusei collapses onto the table. "The―the shards―"

"We've removed all of them. But the internal damage―"

"Doctor!" one of the nurses calls, "Look at this!"

More excited murmuring.

"What's going on?" Yusei asks, though he has a good idea.

"The...well, Fudo, there is still a wound to be sure, but the damage is vastly repaired. It's as if you were grazed, not stabbed."

"Can I go, then?"

The surgeon fumbles, unable to stop staring at the injury. "We'll-we'll need to stitch that, but. But after that, I―suppose there's nothing else to stop you."

Yusei takes a deep breath. "Okay."

* * *

"What happened in there?" Crow demands after a siege of careful hugs and relieved shouts.

Yusei touches his lips and smiles. "An old friend saved me."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jack snaps.

"Are you  _blushing_?" Aki teases.

Yusei stutters. His friends' laughter soothes the air.

"You'll have to tell us all about them," Crow says, "I guess they're the reason you got this."

"Got what?"

Crow hands Yusei the new card.

Yusei's eyes widen. "Field of Reeds?"

It's a Quick-Play Spell, depicting what looks like a palace of limestone surrounded by reeds and sand.  _Gain 300 LP for every Monster in your Graveyard. If this card is in your GY: Banish it, then target one Monster you control. That Monster cannot be destroyed by Battle for 3 turns._

"Super handy and one of its kind," Crow says, "How come you always get so lucky, Yusei?"

Rua winks. "He's got  _friends_."

Yusei touches the palace.

Yes, he does.

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes I wonder if the characters are all just smoking the good kush


End file.
